Coupling for railroad vehicles



y 29, 1952 A. L. HALE ETAL 2,605,003

COUPLING FOR RAILROAD VEHICLES I Filed June 2, 1950 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 I n ventors Jiaz'zrfmmm Adm" azmw 7/0415 Tau/(M57 July 29, 1952 A. L. HALE ETAL COUPLING FOR RAILROAD VEHICLES Filed June 2, 1950 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 F/GZ By M MI/44M Attorneys A. L. HALE ETAL COUPLING FOR RAILROAD VEHICLES July 29, 1952 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed June 2, 1950 ff Ll/HM IIIIIII A ltomeyS July 29, 1952 A. HALE ETAL 2,605,003

COUPLING FOR' RAILROAD VEHICLES Filed June 2, 1950 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 #1 MW 270/745 75u/u/Psr flaw-1'1 M fwlow Attorneys J61? 29; A. HALE Emu.

COUPLING FOR RAILROADVEHICLES 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed June 2, 1950 F/G. /O.

I nveniors flax, Zia/mm 1%; Mum/v Z/a/ms 75mm y WW M M M Attorneys July 29, 1952 HALE HAL 2,605,003

COUPLING FOR RAILROAD VEHICLES Filed June 2, 1950 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 In venlors JQAmPrL'm/Mw 1591! Attorneys J y 1952 A. HALE EI'AL ,605,003

COUPLING FOR RAILROAD VEHICLES Filed June 2, 1950 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 32 Inventors:

Jami [id/WNW 1%41 MIN/f 72 0/11: 720m;

Attorneys Patented July 29, 1952 UNITED STAT COUPLING FOR RAILROAD VEHICLES! Albert L. Haleand William T. Tolhurst, Tipton,

England, assignors to W. G. Allen and Sons (Tipton) Limited, Princes End Works, '1ipton,

Staffordshire, England Application June 2,1950; Serial No, 165,684 in Great Britain February 3, 1949 5 Glairns. (Cl. 213-96) :This invention has reference to couplings for rail road vehicles and is particularly, although not exclusively, applicable to railroad vehicles used for colliery Workand hereinafter referred to as f nine cars. A couplingto which the invention relates consists of two buffing or contacting members adapted to be connected, usually pivotally, to draw gear of two adjoining mine cars respectively, and being adapted to be coupled and uncoupled. In use one such buifing member is usually employed at each end of a vehicle. A coupling is known in which the bumng members are coupled by a removable member; this has the disadvantage that the coupling member can be either lost, or removed by an unauthorizedperson.

For certain schemes ofcolliery mechanisation a coupling for mine cars is required which will enable a train of cars to be passed through a rotary tippler, each car being completely rotated in turn without having to uncouple the cars. In addition, it is most desirable that the part couplings at each end of each car are identical so that .the cars maybe turned round Without affectingthe coupling-up. In addition, it is desirable that the coupling parts should be flush with or behind the face of the buffer when uncoupled to enable the cars to be taken into the cages for lifting to the. surface. This applies particularly to cars used for conveying mine refuse, such as rock and stone, to the surface.

Thev coupling must also be suificiently adaptable to take into account changes in vertical and horizontal alignment of the cars and to enable the coupling to be coupled and uncoupled when cars are on reasonable curves that exist on rail roads.

The object of the present invention is to provide a simple coupling which fulfils these desiderata and which is a safe. and efficient general purpose coupling. 7

One of the disadvantages of certain couplings at present in use is that in order to couple and uncouple mine carsit is essential for an attendantto carry out an operation whereby hishand, foot or head becomes positioned between mine cars, thus running the riskof injury; another disadvantage, resides in the fact that a loose component part of the coupling needs to be manually positioned intov co-acting engagement with a pair of adjoining couplings.

Another object of the invention in one of its.

body'between cars and a further object is to provide'for the couplings to be positioned unobtrusively, when in uncoupled position in order to facilitatethe tak-i-ng of mine cars into ca es; i9 1 lifting to'the surface. a

According to the present invention, .a coupling for rail road vehicles comprises a pair of bu fiing members, each member being'adapted to be. pive otally connected at. one end to vehicle draw'j'gear' and each having a buffingface-at, the otherend lying in a vertical plane'which is atJ-right.anglesv to the axis of each member, at least one of; said buffing members having a central vertical'entryl gap in its buffing face and a seating in w r z; of said face, a coupling-arm comprising ashank and a spherical head at one end-of the shanlg, pivot means. connecting the other end of said arm about a central fixed horizontal. axis tothe other buifing member, saidv spherical headbei adapted to engage said seating; and manually. operable means connected to .said couplingarm, adapted to engage said head withsaid seating and for effecting disengagement or said head. Each of the-buffing members may be'provided with a pivoted coupling arm of which one is arranged to be rendered inactive or captive while the other couples the buifing members;

Preferably, the coupling arm or link has apart,- ly spherical head at its free end. to engage acorresponding spherical seating behind the entry gap in a bufling member and the. portion of the arm adjacent the head, which passes through the entry gap, or the major part of'the armmay; be of circular cross-section. Each entry gap. is, preferably, approximately of V-shape; with curved entry wings for facilitating the entry-ofthe coupling arm into the entry gap. This spherical seating also permits the couplingarm to oscillate in a vertical plane when change in gradient occurs. Segmental supports or ledges, provided near each seating, serve 'to supportthe head of the coupling arm during shunting or buffing of mine cars and ensure that'the said: head will be guided into its seating when haul ing takes place after shunting. 1

Another feature of" the invention is the-progi vision on each bufiingmember, adjoining its entry gap, of, a locking device which whilstj'it.

allows a coupling arm of one bufiing memberto engage the entry gap of a mating bufiingmemher it operates to lock thearm against disem gagement until the device is moved: into a posi-\ tion of release, so that accidental uncoupling will be avoided, 5

This locking device may consisti'of. axpawLpr latchin the form of a biased (springdoaded-Q weighted) lever mounted on a bufiing member and co-acting with an abutment thereof and operating in such a manner that the lever must be intentionally moved to eiiect release of the coupling arm.

When the coupling arm is entering the entry gap of a mating buffing member, the said arm co-acts with the lever and rocks it automatically so that the arm can engage the seating in the head, whereas after entry, the bias of the lever restores it into a position of safety against the abutment.

Other details of construction and provision for raising and lowering the coupling arms will be now described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate by way of example a coupling for a mine car, and some alternative forms of the coupling:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the coupling of which one bumng member is fitted to draw gear of a mine car, sufficient of which is shown for the purpose of illustratiomit is assumed that the other member will be similarly fitted to an end'ofan adjoining mine car and that identical couplings will be incorporated throughout a train of cars.

Figure 2 is a plan of the coupling Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a sectional end view of one of the members with a coupling arm (of a mating member) engaging the seating in the entry gap and showing the operative position of the safety catch.

' Figure 4 is a longitudinal sectional detail showing a head of one coupling arm co-acting with the seating in an entry gap of a mating member, which seating forms an abutment during haulage and a bearingfor the coupling arm asit turns about its axis during tippling of its associated mine cars.

Figure 5 is a' sectional'side elevation of the coupling and showing the relative positions of coupling arm raising and lowering mechanism on the respective ends of mine car bodies indicated in dotted lines.

Figure 6 is a sectional detail of part of the mechanism seeen in Figure 5.

Figure '7 is an'end view of the right hand mine car seen in Figure 5.

Figures 8 and 9 are diagrammatic side elevations showing the adaptability of th coupling under conditions of relative vertical disalignment between buffing members.

Figure 10 shows diagrammatically the relative positions of coupled buifing members during tippling and the interlocking of the parts.

Figures 11 and 12 show diagrammatically in end view and plan the relationship when there is lateral disalignment between adjoining mine cars and occasioned by bends or curves in a rail road and the disaligned position of the coupling arm preparatory to engagement with an entry gap.

Figure 13 is a top plan of a bufiing member and its safety catch and alternative means for the operation of the pivoted coupling arm.

Figure 14 is a side elevation of Figure 13.

Re'ferring'to Figures 1 to 12, a mine car body I (or a body of any rail road vehicle) has a cast steel or steel fabricated bufiing member 2 pivotally connected about a vertical axis 3 to draw gear 4 arranged on the underside of the body I and on its longitudinal axis. This bufiing member 2 has a buffing face 5 formed withan approximately V-shaped entry gap 6 the imaginary apex of which merges into a throat I having parallel sides 8; at the rear of the bufiing face 5 this throat possesses a rounded or partly spherical seating 9. A pair of horizontal aligned ledges or segments I0 extend in a common plane at the rear of the seating 9. A coupling arm II is pivotally connected at its inner end to the builing member 2 on a horizontal axis I2 and forms a permanent part of said member 2 save for replacement or servicing, the free end of the coupling arm II having a rounded or partly spherical head I3 to engage the seating 9 in the mating member 2. As is particularly seen from Figures 1, 2, and 5 each bufiing member 2 has identical characteristics and such a member would be provided at both ends of mine cars so that no diiiiculty would be experienced in coupling-up when cars were turned round. In a particular instance, however, where forward and reverse traction only is envisaged, there need be a single coupling arm II on one member 2 and a seating 9 in the mating member 2. Each bumng member 2 is provided with a locking device for the coupling arm 'II in the form of a first order lever I4 fulcrumed transversely of the axis of the coupling on a horizontal axis I5 in a fork I6 integral with a member 2. This lever I4 is biased by its long arm I6a into engagement with a horizontal flange I? of the member 2, (Figures 1 and 3) so that its short arm I8 normally lies over the coupling arm head I3 in the coupled position. Alternatively the lever I4 could be spring-loaded. Thus unintentional lift,- ing of the coupling arm II into a disengaging position relative to a particular bufling member 2 is prevented, but intentional disengagement can be effected simply by lifting the long arm (6 and simultaneously lowering the short arm I8 out of the path in which the head I3 of the coupling arm H turns for disengagement. The intentional raising of the coupling arm Il'into a stowed position (Figures 1, 5, 6 and 7), and of lowering it into engagement with a seating 9 is permitted in such a manner that the operator is not required to place himself between adjoining mine cars with the attendant risk of injury to a hand or foot or other part of his body.

With reference to Figures 1, 5, 6, and '7, itwill be understood that what is about to be described is common to each end of a mine car so that a description of one end will suffice. Fast with the axis I2 of the coupling arm I I is a lever 20 which is jointedly connected by a link 2I to an operating lever 22 fulcrumed at 23 to an end 24 of the mine car I. The knob I5 of this lever 22 is readily accessible at one side 26 of the mine car without projecting beyond it and this lever 22 can swing between two stops 2'! formed by the ends of a curved bracket 28 secured to the end 24. In the position of the lever 22 shown in Figure l, the coupling arm II has been positively moved into a coupling position, whereas the companion coupling arm II on the adjoining mine car is raised into a stowed position simply by reversal of the position of the arm 22 of its associated mechanism. This position is seen at Figures 6 and 7 and the alternative positions at Figure 5. It will be understood that the raising and lowering mechanism above described may be modified as is disclosed in the specification of our concurrent application for British Letters Patent No. 31,592/48. The link 2! is conveniently springloaded (Figure 6) in that its upper end 29 moves piston-like in a tube 30 under bias of a compression spring 3| which is stressed when the operating lever 22 is moved upwardly so that a snapover: action is effected beyond the dead centre;

position; As an alternative. to the-operating;

m'echanismabove described; a simple, but not so;

readily accessible mechanism, is illustrated; by

verse'position of the cranlc 32 and: the coupling arm H is shown in dottedjflinesain Figure 14:; and again the overcentre position of the spring 33, as indicated by the dotted line 35, produces a snap-over action and holds captive the coupling arm l in the stowed position clear of the bumng face 5.

Assuming it is desired to tipple a mine car through 360, as is accepted practice, the initial angular movement of. a pair oflbufling members 2 coupled at each end of the mine car to stationary mating bufiing members of adjoining fore and aft mine cars bring about an asymmetric state between the V-shaped entry gaps 6 of buffing faces as the spherical heads I3 turn in the bearings formed by the spherical seatings. 9 in the mating members 2. The asymmetry of the entrygaps '6 interlocks the coupling arm H between the mating bufling members 2 duringthis turning movement, as is particularly indicated by Figure 10 independent of any other operating mechanism.

With reference to Figure 5, it will be seen that g each pivot pin 3, forming the vertical axis about which the bumng member 2 is connected to the draw gear 4, is extended at its shank end and formed with opposite flats 38 which key int a horizontally directed slot 3! extending from and rigid with the fixed base 38 of the draw gear 4. This will prevent the coupling rotating relative to the mine car.

The buffing members 2 will be self-aligning and self-centring in the known manner.

The wings of each entry gap provide an adequate lead into the gap so that the shank of the coupling arm H may be pushed downwardly and coupling effected even when mine cars are laterally out of alignment (see Figures 11 and 12) From the foregoing description, it will be appreciated that of a pair of buffing members 2 one or both may be provided with a pivoted coupling arm H and that when both are provided one of the arms is held captive when the other couples the members 2.

The following advantages, singly or combined, can be attained with the couplings:

(1) The coupling can be operated with comp ete safety by an operator at a side of the mine car, using a handle or pedal placed at a convenient height. There is no need for the operator to place either hand or foot between the coupling members of the mine cars. The coupling may be positively locked in either the coupled or the uncoupled position as desired.

(2) The coupling at each end of a mine car is identical; therefore, cars may be turned round without affecting their coupling action.

' buffer faces will mate together;

out of lateral alignment.

6 (3) When acoupled mine car of a trainis 110- tated in a tippler, the rotation takes place between the buffer faces, each buiferunitremaining fixed; in relation to its mine car; This avoids the complications of fixed and swivel coupling heads in. pairs, with the associated problems of; operating gear therefor and the difiiculty of en suring that the head returnsback being rotated through 360.

(4) After buning, it is necessary to, operate one control handle to couple. The control handle on eithermine car may beoperated quite optionally to normalyafter foribringing the coupling arm of onemine car into. engagementv with. the entry gap of the ad; joining-mine car.

(51) Assoon as rotation commences in the up pler, the entry gap in the onebufling-member rotates relative: to the; entry gap in the other: bufiing member. This positively locks the, cou' pling; arm in position independent of any oper-. ating gear. f, however, it is desired to rotatesm'all mine cars in pairs, some form of springoperated. catch would be incorporated to maintaincoupling.

(6) When the cars are buffed on a curve the An adequate lead. in is given to the sides of the entry gaps so that the coupling arm may be pushed downwards and coupling effected even when mine cars are The pivoted bufiing members enable mine cars to run under considerable misalignment without straining the coupling.

(7.) The: spherical head atone end of the cou-- pling armand the pivotal connection to the buffing. member at the other end enables the coupling arm, when'coupled, to act as an, oscillating link in the vertical planeyand allows'for vertical dis-v alignment of mine cars.

. What we claim is:

1. A coupling for rail road vehicles comprising a pair of buffing members, each member being adapted to be pivotally connected at one end to vehicle draw gear and each having a buffing face at the other end lying in a vertical plane which is at right angles to the axis of each member, at least one of said buffing members having a central vertical entry gap in its buffing face and a seating in the rear of said face, a coupling arm comprisinga shank and a spherical head at one end of the shank, pivot means connecting the other end of said arm about a central fixed horizontal axis to the other buffing member, said spherical head being adapted to engage said seating and manually operable means connected to said coupling arm adapted to engage said head with said seating and for effecting disengagement of said head.

2. A coupling for rail road vehicles comprising a pair of buffing members, each member being adapted to be pivotally connected at one end to vehicle draw gear and each having a bufiing face at the other end lying in a vertical plane which is at right angles to the axis of each member, at least one of said bumng members having a central vertical entry gap in its bufiing face and a seating in the rear of said face, segmental supports lying in a common horizontal plane at the rear of said entry gap and at each side of said seating, a coupling arm comprising a shank and a spherical head at one end of the shank, pivot means connecting the other end of said arm about a central fixed horizontal axis to the other butting members, said spherical head being adapted to engage said seating and to co-act with said supports and manually operable means connected to said coupling arm adapted to engage said head with said seating and for efiecting disengagement of said head.

3. A coupling for rail road vehicles according to claim 1, and including a pivoted coupling arm on each bufling member for selective engagement via an entry gap with a seating on a buffing member, the manually operable means being combined with each coupling arm of which one is adapted to be rendered inactive while the other couples the buffing members.

4. A coupling for rail road vehicles comprising a pair of bufiing members, each member being adapted to be pivotally connected at one end to vehicle draw gear and each havin a bufing face at the other end lying in a vertical plane which is at right angles to the axis of each member, at least one of said bufling members having a central V-shaped entry gap in its bufiing face and a seating in the rear of said face, segmental supports lying in a common horizontal plane at the rear of said entry gap and at each side of said seating, a coupling arm comprising a shank and a spherical head at one end of the shank, pivot means connecting the other end of said arm about a central fixed horizontal axis to the other bufling member, said spherical head being adapted to engage said seating and to co-act with said supports and manually operable means connected to said coupling arm adapted to engage said head with said seating and for effectin disengagement of said head.

5. A coupling for rail road vehicles comprising a pair of buffing members, each member being adapted to be pivotally connected at one end to vehicle draw gear and each having a buffing face at the other end lying in a vertical plane which is at right angles to the axis of each member, at least one of said buffing members having a central vertical entry gap in its butting face and a 8 seating in the rear of said face, segmental supports lying in a common horizontal plane at the rear of said entry gap and at each side of said seating, a coupling arm comprising a shank and a spherical head at one end of the shank, pivot means connecting the other end of said arm about a central fixed horizontal axis to the other bufiing member, said spherical head being adapted to engage said seating and t0 co-act with said supports, manually operable means connected to said coupling arm adapted to engage said head with said seating and for effecting disengagement of said head, and a biassed locking lever pivoted transversely on a bufling member, said lever having an arm lying above said spherical head and being adapted to lock said coupling arm with said spherical head in engagement with said seating, said locking lever being also adapted to be turned out of the path of said head by a co-acting engagement of said spherical head with said arm.

A. L. HALE. W. T. TOLI-IURST.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Date 

